Yesterday, my 10 year old daughter told me that the Quadrantid meteor shower was going on, and I got up at 4:00 A.M. with two of my children to look for meteors. The moon was pretty bright, and the shower is apparently past its peak anyway, but the real problem was streetlights. We walked down the street (Broadleigh Rd.) to a park--actually I went down to the park alone (my 6 year old son had decided not to bother and gone back inside after not seeing any meteors from the yard) and the 10 year old, a very heavy sleeper came running after me a bit later when she'd managed to haul herself out of bed--where the sky was a little darker, but not even decent. Ursa major was pretty visible, and Arcturus and a few other really bright stars, but it was disappointing.

The Columbus Astronomical Society lists some places for stargazing, but the closest is 10 miles north of 270, with the other two being an hour-and-a-half or more by car.

I'm reluctant to drive my car at any time, and especially in the middle of the night, so I wondered if any of you have noticed a place with somewhat darker night skies closer to me (Eastmoor)? Somewhere I could ride to in perhaps 30 minutes or less?